Secret Service Agent to Plead Guilty for Silk Road Violations

US Secret Service special agent Shaun Bridges will plead guilty to charges of money laundering and wire fraud stemming from the government investigation into the illicit online black market Silk Road.

Details first emerged of Bridges' alleged improper actions in March, when court documents revealed that Bridges had diverted $800,000 in digital currency to his personal bank accounts without authorization. Bridges was charged alongside Carl Mark Force IV, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent also working on the case.

Notice of the agreement was filed in the US District Court Northern District of California on 17th June, with the formal court filing including the request that Bridges will enter his guilty pleas on 31st August or 1st September, depending on court availability.

The filing indicates that Force completed 10 wire transfers from proceeds of his illicit actions on Silk Road to bank accounts at Quantum Fidelity and PNC Bank. Nine of the wire transfers were for amounts exceeding $99,000, according to a separate 16th June filing, with the largest totaling $225,000.

As part of the agreement, the US government has moved to request that Bridges relinquish any property traceable to his illicit actions and be forced to pay "a money judgment equivalent to the amount of property" involved in the violations.

Bridges was assigned to conduct forensic computer investigations as part of an effort to locate the Silk Road servers for the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force.

A full copy of the 16th June court filing can be found below:

US Secret Service Agent Shaun Bridges Plea Deal